July 4th Update

This update happened on July Fourth. In this post you will see what Supercell changed and my thoughts right below each thing that has been changed. These guide are to help you understand what the update consisted of and what a legends league player thinks about them. Lets get started.

Note: These changes are not live yet! They’re coming on 7/4.

The way we approach card balance in Clash Royale is a combination of play testing and looking at the stats – in particular, card use rates and win rates. You can expect monthly balance changes to keep game play fine tuned and as fun as possible.

In this round of balance changes we’re taking a look at some of the lesser used cards and giving the Goblin Barrel a significant boost!

Skeleton Army: Skeleton count increased to 21 (from 20) – We found him! The missing 4th Skeleton joined the army.

My reaction- I think this is a very little buff to the skeleton army. If 20 skeletons does not make this card good, one more skeleton will not make it better. The card still has all the easy counters like the zap, the arrows, the minions, and any splash damage troop. 21 skeletons isnt going to stop something bigger, it will just destroy little faster but will get wiped out just as fast. I honestly see this as a hair thin improvement and I still doubt it will be used in major decks. However, I have seen some high level people use and be successful with it so its a bonus for them. I feel indifferent to this change.

My Reaction- I think the goblin barrel received a big buff this update. The one elixir decrease is huge because it can no longer be countered by arrows for an elixir advantageous trade. However, there is no more impact damage to the goblin barrel which makes it not have guaranteed damage on to the crown tower. I think that this buff is a little extreme and they could have improved it by making the goblin barrel level 1 higher or by making the barrel have a .2 stun to things the barrel hits. I think the goblin barrel will be used a lot more frequently now and the miner goblin barrel strategy might make the current meta a little bit different. I would try out the goblin after the update if you have it up at a reasonable level. My goblin barrel is only level three which makes it a horrible card to use from where I am at, even with this major buff. I think that this goblin barrel change needed to happen and definitely change the meta a little bid. I support this change that the update brought.

Giant Skeleton: Damage increased by 20 percent (doesn’t affect Death Damage) – Getting to the enemy’s tower is quite challenging for the Giant Skeleton – as it should be – but at least with this change he’ll be one-shotting Goblins on the way.

My Reaction- I think that this is an excellent update. Making the giant skeleton a lot more powerful will help get its use across all arenas. Having the giant skeleton now one shot goblins makes a huge difference. Instead of the giant skeleton having to waste 6 attacks on goblins, it will now only waste three. This saves a bunch of time and potential damage. Like the goblin barrel, I would of tried him if I had the giant skeleton upgraded enough to compete with the arena I am in. I think that this buff with help the viability in using the giant skeleton. I approve of this change that the update has brought.

Dark Prince: Damage increased by eight percent – Until our last round of changes, the Dark Prince dealt half as much damage as the Prince. This change brings his value back in line with his golden brother.

My reaction- This dark prince update will definitely make it stronger. The dark prince will have an easier time killing barbarians and other swarm troops. Also, the Pekka Prince Dark Prince will be back soon. This new meta deck may not be bad though, I mean, it can’t get worse than the royale giant meta right? At least the Pekka Prince Dark Prince deck will add more variety to games. Also, the pekka Prince Dark Prince deck can be countered pretty easily as long as you have an inferno tower in your deck. I think that this dark prince buff with help create a path to a more diverse meta. I approve of this change that this update will bring to the game.

Bomber: Damage increased by nine percent – Despite a few boosts already, the Bomber hasn’t seen a big uptake in usage at the top. Extra damage will make him even more deadly and hopefully a compelling choice again.

My reaction-I actually do not think the bomber needed a boost. Its main purpose to me is to kill the barbarians which is already does so well. Pretty soon the bomber will be able to kill the barbarians in two shots. I mean, the bomber damage does not really affect anything until it gets to the tower because it still one shots the skeletons, the spear goblins, and the regular shank goblins. It might do one less hit to the barbarians but I have not done the calculations yet. The real difference is once it locks onto the tower. You will see a little damage increase but it is still about the same. I do not think this changes was needed but I also do not think that this change will change the meta much. I am indifferent to this change that the update has brought us.

Wizard: Attack speed increased to 1.6 sec (from 1.7 sec) – A faster attack speed should increase the Wizard’s value when compared to his more attractive cousin, the Ice Wizard.

My reaction-This attack speed buff will not change much in my opinion. The main reason to use the wizard was to counter the barbarians and the minion horde which it already does fine. The .1 buff in fire rate it will receive will not make a huge impact. To be realistic, the wizard would have to take 16 shots standing still to be able to get one more attack in. SUre this may help if an arrow is about to kill the wizard and he just nips off one more fireball but that usually will not be the case. This may change the beta for a few days but I do not see people sticking with the wizard for that long. I am indifferent to this change this update has brought to us.

Inferno Tower: Hit points increased by six percent – In the next update, Zap and Freeze will both reset the Inferno Tower’s damage. We’re giving the Inferno Tower some more hit points to compensate for this, and for its low use rates.

My reaction- I used the inferno tower for a long time, until now. I found a better deck without it but I still think the inferno tower is a great card. This buff may make it be able to survive one more royal giant bullet will help make the inferno card a bit harder of a counter to it. Also, the inferno tower will be able to handle the small distraction troops like skeletons or minions with this extra health point boost. I rally did not see how the inferno tower was too weak though. It could survive a pekka swing and I thought that was good enough. However, I sometimes use this card so I am in favor of this buff the update has brought to us.

Elixir Collector: Now affected by slowing and speed up effects (Poison, Freeze, Zap, Rage, Ice Wizard) – The Elixir Collector has very high use rates. It hasn’t been affected by slowing or speed up effects (until now: July Fourth), so this change will tone it down a little bit and also bring consistency with the Inferno Tower change above.

My Reaction- Yup, another elixir collector nerf. Supercell is finally seeing that people do not care if the elixir collector’s health is nerfed, just as long the rate of production is not changed. The ability to slow and even stop the elixir collectors completely from their production will definitely make a huge impact. However, this update does not only nerf the elixir collector, it also buffs it. Now the elixir collector can be under the influence of the rage spell making it produce elixir a lot faster. This can make for some huge pushes if someone uses the mirror, elixir collector, and rage combo. I definitely will be trying some fun combos out with the elixir collector. I also see people now freezing multiple enemy elixir collectors. I think that this change will make the meta a lot more exciting and because of this I am really excited for this change to take place.

Tombstone: Hit-points increased by nine percent – The Tombstone has tough competition as a 3 Elixir defensive option, resulting in low use rates. Extra hit points should make it more appealing and an interesting alternative to the Cannon.

My Reaction- Right now the tombstone is not that viable because its main competition is the cannon. In my opinion, I still think that the cannon beats out the tombstone in ever deck but the hut spamming deck because it does a ton more damage than the skeletons. The skeletons are fairly useless at damage and only causes a distraction. All you need to do for the cannon is drop down the skeletons and you have a damage and distraction combo costing four elixir. With the tombstone, you have to drop down goblins to get both the damage and distraction combo, which costs five elixir and that is one more elixir than it can be. I do not think that the change in this update will change the meta at all. Never the less, I am still excited to see an under powered get buffed. I approve of this new buff the update has brought.

Bomb Tower: Hit points increased by six percent – The Bomb Tower is seen extremely rarely at the top, but has a pretty good showing in the early to mid levels. A small hit point increase should make it more relevant and interesting in the high Arenas, without overpowering it in the low Arenas.

My Reaction- The health points on the bomb tower is going to do very little. What this means is that the bomb tower will just decay at a faster rate because it has to make uo for the six percent more health points it does have. Also, the six percent increase of health points is just going to be just a few spear goblin shots at most. I do not think that this update will change the meta at higher arenas because it is a pretty expensive deck that counters relatively cheap cost troops. However, supercell did say it is a pretty good card at mid or lower arenas so the meta might charge into a bomb tower loaded deck. Of course there will still be many variations because a bomb tower is a defensive structure. The bomb tower cannot be your main card because if it was, your deck will only draw and lose. What we may start seeing in mid to low arenas is that the bomb tower will be used a lot, but with different troop combinations. This could provide a big variation for the meta and I am always happy to see that as a possibility. Because of that\, I am excited to see the bomb tower get a little bit of a buff.

Final Thoughts- Supercell uses specific data to determine updates that include buffs and nerfs. They still do not see the community against the Royal Giant and have not nerfed it yet again. I am still waiting for the nerf myself and I am standing by my level one royal giant proud. Other that that, I think Supercell has made some great changes to the game as well as some changes I do not quite understand.

About The Author

I am a Clash Royale player since the end of January during the soft launch. To this day, I remain a free to play player with a knowledgeable outlook on many different types of strategies. At level 8 I reached the peak of 3424, at level 9 I reached 3647, and now I'm sitting well over 4000 trophies. I love sharing strategies, decks, and other useful information by writing blog posts for you guys.